When a hospital in Gaza was bombed, killing nearly 500 people, Palestinian officials blamed an Israeli airstrike. That claim was later all but refuted, but not before several Arab leaders cancelled meetings with Biden — "and in doing so, [they] precipitated the cancelation of Biden across the region."
"Perception is often more convincing than reality to the Arab street," the authors write. And in the Middle East, "it is Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who is controlling the narrative — and the anti-western repercussions."
Iran keeps outfoxing the U.S. and Israel.
"Consequently, Iran is now able to foment instability across the Middle East at times and places of its own choosing."
Israel does not need American help to defend itself. It needs American help in eradicating Hamas, Sweet and Toth say. And to do that, the U.S. needs to "address the root cause of the problem — Iran."
Toth and Sweet write that Biden must first admit that his Middle East policy of appeasement has been a failure.
"Iran is a cancer in the Middle East. It has metastasized into Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. The U.S. and Israel, along with Sunni Arab partners in the region, need to address this problem at its source."
The Biden administration must find a way to weaken Iran, the authors conclude — or "risk being canceled directly by Khamenei themselves."
Read the op-ed at TheHill.com.
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